Optical systems used in flight vehicles, including aircraft and missile applications, typically include sensors to receive radiated energy from a scene and convert it to an electrical signal. The electrical signal is provided to a display or further processed for pattern recognition, guidance, or the like. For example, the optical system may form part of a seeker (or homing guidance system) containing one or more electromagnetic (EM) radiation sensors, which detect electromagnetic radiation emitted by or reflected from a designated target. Such seekers typically include the optical system mounted behind a transparent seeker dome at the nose of the seeker. The dome protects the optical system components while enabling transmission of electromagnetic waves within the sensor bandwidths through the dome and to the EM radiation sensors.
The optical system components generally have only a limited field of view for receiving the radiated energy. However, the optical system may be manipulated by a pointing device to provide a field of regard larger than the field of view such that the radiated energy through the dome may be directed to the EM radiation sensors. Conventional pointing devices may include various gimbals and other structures to direct the line of sight. However, conventional pointing devices are subject to issues with size, weight, degrees of freedom, field of regard, and cost.
Thus, there is a need for improved pointing devices for optical systems in flight vehicles. Other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent Detailed Description and the appended Claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings and this Background.